Thursday, April 8, 2010

Talking on the Cell Phone While...

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Here I go again, whining about people on their cell phones. For some reason, these devices seem so magnetizing to some people that they can’t get themselves to stop. This time it’s about people who are doing some activity, and yet for some reason, are not able to extricate themselves from their mobile devices.

Example 1: Most mornings I walk our cute black Cockapoo in the park next to our house. There is a woman who rollerblades, seemingly for miles, around the block and who also always, and I mean always, holds a cell phone to her ear and talks. To each his or her own, but I just don’t understand why someone is out exercising under the beautiful California morning sunshine, and yet allows themselves to be totally consumed in a phone conversation….every morning.

Example 2: Again, the morning…I was driving to the library the other morning and there were two, somewhat chubby ladies, doing their version of speed-walking together, and both of them had cell phones to their ears talking to other people. This totally escapes me. The need for human companionship on the telephone was stronger than their enjoyment of each other, or focusing on their cardiovascular activity.

Example 3: At our most recent meeting that our real estate office has each Wednesday, an outside vendor, who happened to be visiting our office, told the story of the morning before, getting off the freeway near the Disney Studios, and being on her cell phone. A Burbank police officer pulled her over and gave her a citation for not using hands free.

But the thing that got me about her PSA to us was that she emphasized that the ticket amount for her was $148.00, and not the expected $50.00, and that we should be aware because it is now more costly to get caught on your cell phone while driving. She seemed, even in her being in the midst of this legal experience, to miss that the point is we should not drive while using a cell phone because it is unsafe, and you could kill someone.

Here's an idea; when you're rollerblading, put the cell phone into your fanny pack. When you're speed-walking, put the cell phones into your pockets. And when you're driving, put the cell phone into the closed middle console or into the glove compartment, and just focus on what you are doing.